Towering Ambition (Radio 4) had a cheering story to tell: of work done by the Stephen Lawrence trust to tackle the lack of representation of black and ethnic minorities in architecture. Just 2% of practising architects in the UK are from these communities. To challenge this, and in memory of Lawrence's own ambitions to work in the profession, the trust secured six summer scholarships to Harvard Design School.

We followed the recipients' journeys from disadvantaged, hurdle-strewn backgrounds to the Ivy League. "For me to go there," said one of the six, "wow. Like, wow." Unfortunately the presenting style of Adil Ray jarred throughout. It was rather fond of itself, and in a cramped half-hour, overly prominent. Why did we have to hear Ray telling one of the aspiring architects that, in the US, "They don't know how to make tea – these Americans, they've got a complicated life"? An extended metaphor about winning speedboats on game shows should also have gone at the editing stage.

The programme lazily borrowed from other reality formats ("Has he got the architectural X Factor?"), which didn't sit easily with the serious underlying issues here. "Who's going to boot camp – I mean Harvard?" Ray asked in a jokey moment that once again drew attention to his narration and not to the rebuilding of lives.